Friday, August 17, 2012

Back from Gamescom 2012

A small team from SCS Software made a quick two-day trip to Cologne, Germany, to "talk business" at Gamescom, the biggest European game show. We have spent most of the time in a section not accessible to general public - two of the huge halls at Koelnmesse are dedicated just for trade visitors to give them room for networking and business development talks. In fact we were so busy with the business aspect of the trip that we did not venture much into the public halls, staying away from the deafening sounds and big crowds. We haven't even managed to take any cool photos worthy of showing you on the blog. But the trip was very important for us and the future success of our games.

We try to keep an open dialogue not just with our fan community, but also with our publishing partners. They better have total confidence into us and our projects, to be willing to spend money and effort on massaging the retail as well as digital distribution channels to offer and promote our games. Big games industry events are a good opportunity for us to meet our
colleagues from publishing companies in person and discuss our plans.

Without good partners who are specialists in the field, a niche game like Euro Truck Simulator 2 would hard time standing out among much bigger mass-market titles on the shelves. Inn fact without a network of reputable partners we'd have hard time even appearing on the shelves at all in most countries

We were also excited to meet a representative from Valve's Steam to discuss our chances to get our games on their service. We have tried submitting our games to Steam before, but without success (truck simulators really were considered too niche by their approval committee it seems, especially after a competitor truck game was given a chance but was not quite accepted so well by Steam players). In a few weeks, Steam is going to come out with Greenlight, a new system that will depend on fans of games to help them sort out candidates for inclusion on Steam. We definitely plan to be on Greenlight with ETS2 as soon as it launches; we have high hopes that we can count on your help! With the number of fans of our games, we should be able to get our voice heard. You are definitely going to hear from us again on this topic soon, asking you to join us in the rally to put our games to Steam!

To conclude this post, let us show you something that wasn't yet shown extensively - the central "hub" screen of the user interface system of Euro Truck Simulator 2. The game doesn't have a text-based main menu any more as did our previous games, and another set of menus for other in-game screens (the old "notebook" mental concept). With ETS2, we knew that the system needed to be more flexible to accommodate a lot of features, and yet we wanted to have a chance to make it understandable, to be able to liken it to an existing paradigm of control of an application or device. After some experiments, we settled on "desktop" approach - there is a central screen which you can think of as a desktop screen of the operating system on your computer, where we can add "application icons" for various features in the game. Where appropriate, related function icons are grouped into "widgets." We will make the "applications" appear over time on the desktop; we don't want to overload the player too soon with too much stuff. The learning curve is not too steep initially, but we have lots of room to add game features, which we plan to do even beyond the initial release of the game ;-).

What's with this TrackIR thing?It tracks the movement of your head, or what?So, if you wanna look left, you turn your head left? This means you will actually be looking over your right shoulder at the screen, which is still in its original position?I'm puzzled...

It's pretty sensitive ohaha, you only need to move a tiny bit for it to turn (if you calibrated it properly) and given that you normally keep changing your position on your sit, you also have to hit a key to recenter the tracking, but you get the hang of it...feels pretty good once you get used to it.

I got my TrackIr a week ago. It's fantastic starting from the first moment. I just installed software, put my cap on my head and started playing and.. whoa! I can freely watch all over my truck cabin. No calibration or changing game setup needed to be done at all. Mouse remains mouse and I don't need keyboard at all as I'm using Logitech GT wheel. It's only bad when I start to scratch my head or something :))

I think that ETS2 mention the possibility of getting off the publishing vehicle was one of the characteristics that would have the game. Until the video provided by SCS no softwere or ETS2 demonstrated. THIS WILL BRING THE POSSIBILITY OF GAME OR NOT.????

Farming sim is still a niche game, but there is several websites/forums with +50000 users and at least two with +100000 users. Compared to this I would also call ETS2 a niche game, since "only" 10000 people follow this game on the blog. And I dont know any comunities with more users than that. That said, I can't wait for the release just like the rest of you. Greetings from Denmark.

"niche"A small market with a limited number of sales or appealing to a smaller group of people

I.e. Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc cars cater for a “niche” in luxury or fast expensive cars for people who can afford them, unlike Opal/Vauxhall/Ford/etc who cater for a much larger market.

Cool as always,one thing though, a few weeks ago I would have been pro-Steam, BUT with the messing around Valve has done with “subscription” vs. “licence” in their TOS/EULA and how they have been going at late seemingly thinking that their TOS/EULA overrides that of the licence (EULA) granted by the game owner/developer to the end user along with their formation of Steam in the EU as a separate entity to Steam USA, I will no longer be buying ANY games from steam – not that I would by ETS2 from Steam anyway when I would purchase it direct from SCS web site!

That main screen is very good. Its much better than any other game I've seen before. I hope we get a decent demo that lasts more than just an hour. With ETS 1 you cant really get a feel for the game in an hour. Two hours would be much better.

People need to be aware that Steam offers the opportunity of DLC and, as I have posted previously, simulations are perfect for DLC. Expansions of the map can be sold as well as trucks or other add-ons. I am not interested in specific trucks, but the modding community was always big on trucks, so there is money to be made.

You said “People need to be aware that Steam offers the opportunity of DLC.......” which by the way of wording/writing in English implies other ways do not, as the statement eluded to mention there were other possibility apart from Steam with simple words like “also” or other words to imply in addition too without having to explicitly state what the other methods were.

My Steam account is finally usefull again for the Greenlight system.I think it would be a big succes if SCS get ETS2 on Steam.However, I'm not that much of a fan of it, but it could mean a good income for SCS thanks through the many users of Steam.

The main menu looks very nice.These kinds of menus give the very first impression and feeling by a game, this looks very good!

We are working hard on finalizing Euro Truck Simulator 2 for release, but there are still some unfinished tasks which we would like to get done so that the game is released in great shape and sound.

One of the problems are correct and believable virtual farts reminiscent of your typical truck driving countryman (or countrywomans) sound and an odour rating based on regional diet so we may come up with believable “windage” ratings to match to window opening duration, as we have got to add some function to being able to open a window!………"

Though having opening windows then having little or nothings to do with them that adds function in the game is more idiotic especially if it was in-part a cause for the delay and aditonal bugs that needed fixing ;)

I kinda hope the openable windows are in the game so everyone who shouted "PLZ PlZ PLZ 0p3nabl3 windows!1!1!!!1" looks like a nugget.

Anyway what's with your imagination, if you gotto pee IRL, park your truck at a truckstop, pause the game, go to your bathroom, pee, wash your hands and come back to drive off again...Oh and don't actually go to the bathroom before you parked hehehe.

Steve.. Everyone has told S7efan to chill and so but he only see all other as idiots. He does not seem to belong in here. He don't know how to act in a blog. Everyone is stupid he thinks. Sorry Steve but we have tried to tell him to chill.

:))) First of all. You all don`t know what an opinion is.Second. Stevy if you think my post is somehow insulting you i feel sorry for you man, you need to chill like all the kids round here that say they are 20>, maybe they do but they think and act like 12. I feel sorry for you guys.

Jack, you say you have 20, your language is not showing that. ;) I don`t think that i insult anybody in a post, just in one on this topic but he desirve it. Good luck and you really need to chill and learn to think first, not every post and comment is an insult, sorry if this post is an insult too.

Oh, one more thing, just SCS can say that my place is not belong here, not some spoiled kids that don`t know what a pussy is. ;) Cheers! BTW i`m 21 in case u wonder jack :).

Sorry for another post, but this guy is so funny. "AnonymousAugust 18, 2012 12:05 PMSteve.. Everyone has told S7efan to chill and so but he only see all other as idiots. He does not seem to belong in here. He don't know how to act in a blog. Everyone is stupid he thinks. Sorry Steve but we have tried to tell him to chill."

PLEASE, can you find 3 post were someone tolds me to chill? I`m very calm. I was and still am polite on this blog, i didn`t insult anyone, if he/she feels that then he/she has problems or can`t read or think right.

JackAugust 18, 2012 5:17 PM@ S7efan, well, i thought that u r just another dumb kid, butit turns out that r u not, I apologize for my words, that was immature from me as u said, so i am sorry !

I`m glad you can be polite, but it`s no need to be sarcastic, really. @Steve: Like i said, if you think that my post is an insult you can`t understand some things or you have issues. You told me to chill out, look at the begining on the thread, you have some problems with people coments and opinions, i bet you consider all the posts insults. :|

How can you say my post was rude, really, i just said if you want what you said you can play GTA, Mafia, what is rude in that statement?

Lets see, there are 7 truck makes, and at the very least >8 cab interior of which there are LHD & RHD versions which total >16 cab interior, there are at least 8 distinct external cab shapes ignoring minor variant and each cab has 4 total LOD’s

All of them would require the 3d artists to detach and animate the relevant windows for the interior & external parts so they would be synced with each other to avoid having a window open on an internal view but from outside it appearing closed, that would be the total of at least 32 to 48 individual modals requiring changes.

The programmers would then have to add the function to move the window.

The bugs have to be ironed-out.

The sound engineer then has to create a 3rd set of sounds to attenuate sound vs. how much the window is open.

And all the above IS at best to add virtually NO function to the game bar making the internal sounds change vs. how much the window is open and NOTHING else.

In my book as someone who did at one time work as a 3d artist in the games industry, is lots of work for very little functional reward to the end user for the time involved and how soon the novelty will wear-off.

On mine you too were fond with ETs2 promotion if to look really at things, it is not enough that new I saw in ETs2, loading bases since ETS, shop where it is possible to buy the truck too from ETS, it is so possible to list long, infinitely... On pleased only graphics and behavior of a traffic on the road! I am afraid to be disappointed in game when it leaves. In two and a half years of development of game, it was possible to make that on more essentially and that it wasn't similar to the predecessors, to bring global change. As a result we see a touch the picture, it is not a lot of in the best quality and no more than that.

wow, all I can do after reading this is try to imagine what the spirit of what you said is...cuz I sure as hell can't use my language comprehension part of the brain here, that'd ruin every chance of understanding you!

I think that they buying of trucks and repairing is still going to happen within the game world itself, the screens they've shown are of the management bit, and those always had buy/repair/refuel buttons.

But as I said, no idea if that can even be close to what you asked...lol

YES PLEASE SCS!!!!! OPENABLE WINDOWS!!! WE ALSO WANT X-RAY GLASSES SO WE CAN SEE THE WOMAN WHO WALK IN THE CITY NAKED!!! WE ALSO WANT AN MP4 SO WE CAN BREAK THE GLASS OF A BUILDING AND THEN COPS WILL RUN US OVER!!

i was being sarcastic,if you didn't get it. the message is:STOP ASKING FOR OPENABLE WINDOWS! IT WILL PUSH THE RELASE DATE!!

anyone know if putting custom pipes on your truck will change its sound in ets2? i have a straight through pipe on my own truck so it would be a nice touch, if not im sure the modders will have a go :)

I'm glad to see you focusing and spending time solely on the business part of game production. Getting ETS2 on Steam would surely be an advantage, reaching audience who never look outside their Steam account. However, it is EXTREMELY important that your main selling channels (i.e. your own website store) is independent, and not tied up to Steam. Unless you are already an established Steam user, and well familiar with their system, buying a game and discover that you are forced to use the game through Steam can be a real disaster. I own games where the publisher chose to rerelease the download Steam-free, simply because 60% of their customers were unable to play the game at all...

Then you propably never used Steam... it has alot of features such as chatting with friends ingame, browsing web ( aswell ingame ) and maybe guys from SCS could aswell implent workshop for us to have mods eassily uploaded and updated.

well, in order to create a server for multiplayer and be able to maintain it, its going to cost too much, and as u probably know, this game is based on low-budget -.-yeah, i got disappointed too when i heard it -.-

My very dream of life is becoming a truck driver.. My dad is that. Trucks has always been in my heart. And i really love that life. The loneliness, on your own..

But i've got a big problem. I'm like top 3 in my class. I could get a much nicer, well-payed job if i wanted. But i don't. I don't want to sit at the office with a black suit and hammering on a computer. I wanna discover europe, in a truck.

My dad knows a guy at work who loves his job. He says driving a truck around europe, is the best thing he knows. He can't imagine an other job. He says if you like working alone, make it on yourself and want to discover, that's a job for you.

What should i do? My mind is a bit fucked up right now i need support :S

If you have an aptitude for schooling and you don’t mind it then get as much from it as possible to give yourself a good educational background, as it gives you extra options in life, a good education doesn’t stop you being a truck driver! BUT curtailing your educational background needlessly diminishes options for most people, if you find truck driving isn’t for you or the “dream” you thought it was but you end up stuck with it.

A good education can be helpful in specialist applications of truck driving like heavy haulage BUT natural aptitude to driving is still the biggest factor, if you have both more doors in life will be open to you sooner.

I would most defo get another job 1st, not sure where you come from but the most your will earn in the UK is about 28K a year there is a few that pay more but those jobs are like gold dust.

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders already. So i would finish learning then i would try to get a trade behind you in something, which normally would take you 2 to 3 years depending on what trade you go into. If you still want to be a truck driver after that then speak with your dad and see if he can guide you.

Dont rush into anything my friend, that is my only sensible advice i could give you.

My advice to you...follow your dreams, you only live once, after this life oblivion awaits so try to maximize your happiness while you can...and for those religious ppl, if there's something after this then it's a moot point anyways, you still should do what makes you feel good but have less to worry about then.

Education is only needed if you want to be 'hired' on paper alone, if you like something and spend alot of effort on it, you'll become good enough to get a job regardless of your education level.

So my advice is to just live as if there's no tomorrow, let the chips fall where they may. The grass is always greener over the next hill, as long as you're doing something you like, don't mind the hills.

just follow your dreams, I just passed my exams and was the best in my class, now im on school to become a Truck driver. just do what you want to do, money is not all. would you rather do a boring job and earn lots of money or would you do something you like and earn a bit less money?just think about that and you would know the answer.

I've been out of school for 7years (ish) now... I got a good education but decided to move into van driving as soon as i got my driving licence done that for a few years and then trained on rigids/articulated trucks... Ive been trucking for a couple years now and wouldnt ever change it, im not the greatest paid and money does help but as mentioned before its not the most important... I do it because i love what i do and the best advice anyone could give you is go for what you want, and believe in. Aim higher at the better job and if you find you dont like it try trucking :) Trucking isnt for everyone you may find you hate it but then you may find you love it... Your choices at the end of the day. Onto the game im looking forward to ets2 and trying to get a life like replica of my real wagon :) keep up the work SCS!

I don't think there would be a problem with games you already have, because I own somewhere in the region of 70-80 games on steam, and there is a number of them that steam don't sell anymore, but I can still play them. As we all bought them in good faith, there would be so many problems for steam if they did do something that meant people couldn't play what they'd paid for. It would probably finish Valve off as a company, so I don't think there's any need to worry. This GREENLIGHT palava, seems to be, if I'M reading it right, a voting system where steam users can vote for the games they would like to see on steam. I personally wouldn't be buying it on steam though, as I've already pre-ordered it on Amazon.co.uk. But, having said that, I would still vote for it to be on steam, as it will garner a higher audience, hopefully. As for ALH being on steam, ALH was a Valusoft game, SCS were just the programming house. With ETS, SCS are doing all of this off their own back, so this could be the reason.

Maybe when drive faster than the speed limit , it wouldn't appear a small square in which is written that u didn't respect the speed limit and u need to pay a caution .I think it's better to put I the roads some radars ( to be more realistic) and the other vehicles that drives on the other way flash ( light flash) to prevent u ( like in real life). I think it's a good advice (future). Sorry for bad English in from Romania .

So regarding to S7efan, EVERY release date on the net is fake.Wow I'm disappointed now. I really thought that we could trust the shops on the net.NO S7efan, the release date is not fake, it's a datethat SCS states and it's real UNTIL it PERHAPS will be postpone.Which i many cases do not happen.If I buy 25 games a year, its only 5 who will be postponed.

Well I can tell you that SCS did anounced a release date. Not to you or me but to those who should sell they game. Ever wonder why most shop has the same date? Do you think they all just happen to guess the same date?

Remark that this page is where all shops get the info from. This page has been updated yesterday and the 28 sep. is STILL the day SCS expect to release the game. This is not OLD info. S7efan you should read the info in small text above the list.Then tell us again that this is a guess. Its a fact until SCS OR Excalibur Publishing change it.

Steam:in the past i had a couple times problems with Steam. I don't like that you need to be online to play and that you need to rely on a service being online.I hope steam won't be the only platform then where you sell your game. I personally prefer Gamesload or other download sources where you don't have a fat client of the publisher sitting on your computer collecting data and eating performance.

SCS Software should think about converting games to linux. They have already some games ported to mac, so why not to linux? Scs team uses their own game engine and may even get games to Steam one day. People on Valve are converting Steam and some games for Linux right now.

What if SCS Software converts ETS2 for Linux and gets the game on Steam Linux as one of the first games? I think that the game would sale very good! Every Linux gamer would absolutely buy it!

I try to avoid as long as i just can STEAM based games. Steam is the most worse and worse working gaming solution which i know. I do not have actually anything positive to say about STEAM. Sorry SCS Software but do you really need STEAM?

I don't care if you make a deal with Steam or not.But I do care if I can not buy the game from your own site or from a local dealer. I will NEVER use Steam. I do not need a game which require me to install steam. I do not need steam do decide what I wanna do with a program after I bought it.

Can we please have openable windows SCS im begging you please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Instead of wasting space with lots of exclamation marks why didn’t you use that space to add some justification to your request with plausible function for “openable windows” that would justify the work of doing it given the delay it would cause IF they have not already been added to ALL the modals when they were originally made.

If the best you can do is repeated posts of mostly exclamation marks and the misuse of “WE” when you should be using “I” you are hardly likely to be taken seriously either by SCS or a significant number of other posters.

A well worded argument for “openable windows” setting out potential functions, advantages etc is far more likely to get SCS or other posters to listen rather than a blur of exclamation marks preceded by a short whiney sentence begging for something!! <note how I just used two ! For effect.

I would like windows on trucks cos its a good feutre as you can do stuff inside the cab aswell as outside it would also make the game more realistic after the game they could do a dlc of a function pack like cabin ligts,openable windows,delivering to petrol stations ect.... so it doesnt delay the game.

SCS Software

Take a look under the hood! SCS Software - makers of vehicle simulation games including 18 Wheels of Steel Series, Bus Driver, and Euro Truck Simulator. Currently working hard on Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator.